Wrestling season ends in Kissimmee

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This last weekend on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3, three Robinson wrestlers competed in the FHSAA 2A Wrestling State Championships at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Fla,. JaQuan Jackson (’18) and Devin Jandura (’19) wrestled their way to the semi-finals on Saturday while Jayden Alvarez (’19) did not place, but won a match.

Jackson finished sixth in the 182 weight class this weekend, marking the end of his high school career. But Jackson is proud of what he has experienced and accomplished in the last four years.

“It was a great experience and definitely one that I’ll cherish and remember forever,” said Jackson, a 2018 Russ Mauger Award nominee for his quality of sportsmanship, leadership, ethics and integrity. “I felt accomplished by me even [sic] qualifying for states before, so by me even placing it felt that much better.”

But for the rest of the team, the focus is on the future.

Thomas Montero, head wrestling coach, was proud of his team although he believes they could have done better and hopes for improvement next year.

“I think it was great although some things could change but we all need to live with it. I think it was a great stepping stone for our program,” Montero said. “[I hope to improve on] the number of state qualifiers first and then getting the younger guys to figure out how easy it really is to go to states and win. Once you go through my program, you know you’re ready for it.”

Alvarez’s first time at states gave him the opportunity to see his wrestling capabilities as well as understand what he needs to fix to get better as he heads into his senior year.

“I realized after I won that I was able to wrestle with the best and be the best because, at states, every match is going to be a challenge,” Alvarez said. “The experience was great, getting to spend a lot of time with my teammates who made it to states and…. to be able to wrestle in an arena in front of hundreds of people.”

Jandura, who is the highest ranked underclassmen in the state and 2A regional champ of the 220 weight class, left Kissimmee on Saturday placing fourth, an improvement from last year’s state qualifier. Although placing fourth is not what he wanted, he plans for improvement during his senior year.

“Next year I expect nothing less than first,” Jandura said.

The team seems to experience no offseason, as their minds are already set on the 2018-2019 season.